issue one - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

The Mazurka was an orchestral work from
the start. It first appeared in 1888 as part of
a suite. Elgar revised it eleven years later as
the first of the Three Characteristic Pieces.
La capricieuse is suitably light and teasing.
Chanson de Nuit shows Elgar in a warm,
thoughtful mood. The Mazurka is a hearty
exercise in folk-flavoured dance music, in this
case with a Polish accent.
Sir Arnold Bax
b. London, England / November 8, 1883
d. Cork, Ireland / October 3, 1953
Tintagel
A self-proclaimed “brazen Romantic,” Bax
developed a majestic style which reached
its peak in seven symphonies and a group of
atmospheric symphonic poems inspired by
Celtic mythology and the British landscape.
Tintagel (1917) takes its name from a village
in Cornwall on England’s southwest coast.
Over the rugged, wind-swept landscape brood
the ruins of an ancient castle associated with
the legends of King Arthur and Tristan.
The printed introduction states, “The
composer’s intention is simply to offer a
tonal impression of the castle-crowned cliff
of Tintagel, and more especially of the long
distances of the Atlantic as seen from the
hills of Cornwall on a sunny but not windless
summer day.”
“(Grainger)...produced
a long series of unique and
treasurable arrangements...”
Gustav Holst
b. Cheltenham, England / September 21, 1874
d. London, England / May 25, 1934
The Perfect Fool, Op. 39: Ballet Music
Holst is known internationally solely by his
spectacular orchestral suite The Planets, but
the best of him will be found in his mystical
choral works and expert folk-song settings.
The comic opera The Perfect Fool debuted in
London in 1923. Its oddball libretto, written
by Holst himself, ensured its lack of success
in the theatre, but the ballet music which
opens the first scene has taken on a life of its
own as a concert piece. Trombones sound a
commanding invocation; a wizard summons
three sets of spirits, representing earth, water
and fire; each dances to brilliantly scored,
richly characterized music. ■
Programme Notes © 2010 Don Anderson
Percy Grainger
b. Melbourne, Australia / July 8, 1882
d. White Plains, New York, USA / February 20, 1961
Londonderry Air
Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg instilled
in Grainger a love of folk music, regardless
of its origin. Grainger took to the British
countryside, a primitive recording machine
strapped to his back. He recorded numerous
folk songs on location, then produced
a long series of unique and treasurable
arrangements of them. He created his rich
setting of Londonderry Air (a melody also
known as Irish Tune from County Derry, and
Danny Boy) in 1909.
allegro 51